Flying Alone

[Garf]

I know about the inadvisability of flying alone, but I fly in an area that is very close to an R/C area that is always crowded. My question is when the flight is over, how do you prevent damaging the lines when moving the plane to the launch spot. My planes don't whip well. I have a good stooge and have learned how to keep out of trouble when using it, but I have lost several sets of lines by them hanging up on various things when recovering the model. Any ideas?

[Jim Thomerson]

What I have done is walk the model down the lines to the center of the circle, and then out to the stooge.  This works fairly well.  A better solution might be to make some kind of holder you could put the handle in, maybe a foot off the ground. Then keep the lines tight and out of the underbrush while walking the airplane back. 

[Bob Reeves]

You probably don't have allot of control over mowing but, I keep my circle mowed pretty close and am very careful when dragging the lines. Haven't really had the problem you are having but if I did some sort of handle holder would sure be the way to go...

[minnesotamodeler]

That's the solution, stick a big screwdriver in the ground after you land, hang your handle over it, pull the lines taut at the airplane and walk it back around.  Even on a closely-mowed field, there are often ground-hugging weeds that will snag your lines solidly enough to kink them if they're dragged on the ground..  Can also be a takeoff hazard, something to give a close check to before releasing the stooge.  On a related note, I went out to the handle recently, picked it up and pulled the lines taut as usual before releasing, and saw another of my planes move--I'd forgotten to switch the lines over!  Made me feel awfully stupid, and glad no-one was around to witness it.  Also made me very, very glad I don't just pick up the handle and pull the stooge trigger.  I always make sure I can see the lines clear of everything all the way to the wingtip, besides checking for proper "up" and "down", before that plane ever gets turned loose.

--Ray

[Shultzie]

Uhhh?
Perhaps Garf was saying:
How do I pick up my model and take it back to the stooge without dragging my lines either through the grass or across a gritty hard tarmac or cement without wearing or damaging the lines.
 So much depends on the surface?

I don't know bout'chew' you guys..but when flying alone on a hard tarmac only...I would simply drop an old phillips screwdriver near the center of a cement or tarmac flight circle.

Check to see if I could find the holes that I had carefully drilled into the tarmac...when no one, especially the Boeing Security guard staff was looking.
I GOT CAUGHT JUST ONCE!
Drill a nice fitting hole..(usually on that old  Space Center lot, it was already full of previously drilled holes by other stunt grunters doin their round round round thang.
It was rather important however, If I could make it within a reasonably short distance on the landing...
I would simply walk over and pick up the phillips...LOOK FOR PRYING EYES.. and quickly "stick it into a very well camay'ised hole" that the circle center.
 Walk over, pick up the handle, place the saftey strap or handle..Walk back to the model... Pull the slack out of the lines...Carefully pick up the model, just enough pressure to  get them up and off the cement.
 LOOK AGAIN FOR PRYING EYES.., while walking the short distance back to your stoog?
YOU SHOULD BE "GOOD TO GO AGAIN?"

 Actually, I practiced very seldom on grass...so I never really gave it much thought about grass fields due to the ease of whippin the model as most contests are flown on black top.  NO BIG DEAL? Not true....Especially if your next contest happens to be on grass.

Practice makes perfect and sooooooooooo many great black top flyers have lost soooo many events...simply because their lack of practicing their  ability to fly off and onto grass.

 No matter how beautifully they fly the rest of the pattern...with the high quality of competition fliers...if they haven't done their home work by practicing on the surface that they will be flying the even on. Be it GRASS, OR HARD TARMAC, will often be the difference  from winning or not placing at all.

 HOWEVER....MORE IMPORTANTLY ON GRASS!!!

I alway tried to MAKE CERTAIN...that I wacked  all the old dandy-do-da-day lion & weed tassles away, at least from the immediate take-off zone.  
Which then would make it quite an easy task by just simply picking the model up, carefully head or should high and DRAAAAGUM' back to the stooge with no harm done.

Some flyers use that stoog as a landing target...and hopefully learn to touch down just beyond the stoog and not IN FRONT OF IT!
(Hey...I have repaired more than my share of purty wheel pants and landing gear fairings due to my serious lack of ability to judge distance! OUCH!
"WHO PUT THAT FLYING BOX...RIGHT IN THE LANDING PATH??...OPPS! OK! I remember

[Shultzie]

OPPS! RAY! SORRY
I JUST SAW THAT YOU MAKE A POST ABOUT THIS SAME THING...GOTTA LOOK BEFORE I PUNCHED THE POST BUTTON?

[minnesotamodeler]

At least we didn't contradict each other!

[Shultzie]

At least we didn't contradict each other!

AMAZING...how much alike and similar the experiences of so many of our balsa-butchers have in common, huh? 

[minnesotamodeler]

It is indeed...or maybe, to be expected.

[Mark Scarborough]

Shultzie,,
Dandilions is a 2 four letter words, I have no fondness for the little bas***s after Portland last weekend! Stupid things cost me my best ever flying plane,, ask Randy he was there!

another lesson learned,, another plane lost!!!!!!!!!!!

[minnesotamodeler]

Dandelions seem specially designed to snag lines. We also have, here in MN, a low-growing rough ground-cover weed that not only snags, but tangles itself into, the lines.  Nasty stuff.

--Ray

[Leo Mehl]

Mark, I am sorry for your lose last week at Portland, but I have learned over the years that Dandelions have a habit of growing very tall in a short time. It is always a good thing to check the field  for these morfidites just before you fly by walking your line out to your plane and holdin handle quit high and keeping the line taunt before takeoff. I used to fly in a lot baseball fields when I was younger so am well aware of what can happen. I have even flown in wild grass that was over waist high with a hand launch from someone. It was exciting for landing for you never new what was going to happen. Th best way to land in this kind of grass was to stall plane and let it settle into the grass because it was tall and very flexable. After a while this will all become second nature to you. We all have gone through this learning curve and it seems there is no shortcuts to getting konowledge of different situations. Keep smilling for this won't be the first time something will pop up. I have had several things happen that I have never had happen during my learning process. You never stop learning untill they take you off the slab.  

[Mark Scarborough]

AMEN LEo,,
its all part of the game as it were. As I said, lesson learned,, sigh,,
its all good, just frustrating cause it put me back to no backup plane, Thanks to Pat and Scott, I have another p-40, it should be airworthy this week, though not as pretty as the Q ship. I think after stewing for a week, I can probably repair the Qship, it wont be as pretty as it was but shouldbe airworthy again, the wings survived with no damage so they still look nice

[Shultzie]

Shultzie,,
Dandilions is a 2 four letter words, I have no fondness for the little bas***s after Portland last weekend! Stupid things cost me my best ever flying plane,, ask Randy he was there!

another lesson learned,, another plane lost!!!!!!!!!!!

Let me say this with clarity!!!!! THOSE LITTLE DANDYLIONS SUCKUTH!
Yes, I read about your loss of a beautiful work of sky art! Just thinking about that PUCKERS MY LITTLE....UNDERPANTIES IN A KNOT!

[Rudy Taube]

Garf,

I may have the solution to your problem. 90% of my flying is alone in the park 2 min. from my home. I use the excellent stooge by Tom Morris, but like you I found the need for a "stooge assistant" to keep my lines off the grass or pavement. Our club field is paved but has small imperfections that are just high enough to snag a line and kink it.

What I built is very KIS, inexpensive, and works perfectly. I will try to attach a picture of my devise. If the picture does not get through, here is a written description:

THE BASE: is a 1' x 1' piece cut from a common 3/4" white coated shelf material. I epoxied a 1' x 1' piece of heavy floor tile to the bottom for added stability. Then screwed on one of those table leg attachment brackets in the center of the base.

THE UPRIGHT:  Get a square, approx. 2"x2"x17" table leg with the bolt already sticking out of the bottom, or make your own, (this will screw into the bracket on the base).
     Now get a 3/4" dowel approx. 14" long. Sand a small flat area on one side for approx 6". Now use three tie wraps to attach this dowel to the side of your table leg so that approx 8" is above the top of the table leg.

THE SWIVIAL:  Cut a piece of 1" ID Sch-40 PVC to 9" long. Get a piece of Velcro (the kind that has the male on one side, and the female loops on the other so that it attaches when it is wrapped on itself), cut 9" long. Screw it to the PVC with two short screws that do not stick into the inside of the PVC. This Velcro is about 3" down from the top of the PVC.

PROTECT YOUR HANDLE: If you like the finish on your handle take the extra step of using rubber to protect it. I epoxy a vertical strip 1" x 6" of the black rubber mat material that is used to line tool chests, you could also use the thinner "non-slip"  material used to line kitchen drawers. I also line the part of the Velcro that touches the CL handle to protect it. I also use a 1'x1' piece of this non-slip material on the bottom of the BASE.

USE: Screw the upright into the base. Place the PVC over the dowel, (it will now spin freely on the top of the leg). Attach your handle to the PVC with the Velcro wrap.

Now go get your airplane while your "Stooge helper" guides your handle around the circle with you, and holds your handle and lines up out of harms way. :-)

All the parts above are at Home Depot, or similar.

I have more than 30 flights using the above. It works much better than I thought it would. It is VERY stable. You would have to work very hard if you wanted to try and tip it over. When taken apart it stores easily in your Van.

While I'm flying the unit is placed about 6' away from me,  but at the same distance as my line length. When I begin my landings I look at the unit to get an idea where to walk to so that my plane lands the exact distance needed to get back to my stooge with NO dragging of anything.

Sorry this is so wordy. I think I could have built another unit in the time it took to explain it! ;-) I hope this helps solve your problem. ....... Feel free to ask any questions. This was my 1st try at designing/making a stooge helper, so any improvement ideas are welcome. :-)

Regards,

[rob biddle]

    G'day Garf,
 I have seen a stooge "assistant" before, very similar to what the other guys mentioned.
 
 A length of pvc pipe etc about 3-4' long with a weighted base and some type of swivel attachment for the handle at the top.

 After a flight, set the assistant up in the centre of the circle, mount the handle and walk the model back to your stooge with the lines clear of the grass.

 With a bit of nouse you could make a telescopic or fold up version that is very compact.

 I have thought of making one myself but haven't needed one yet, the couple of fields that I haven't been booted off yet are kept in pretty good condition.

 Cheers, Rob.
 

[Garf]

Since I believe in keeping things as simple as possible, I will first see if there is a hole in the center pad where I fly. If so, I will make a short post out of PVC with a swivel handle holder at the top. If not, it will be something like a large screwdriver, or something similar.

[Kim Mortimore]

I have a simple stooge helper that has worked well.  It is a round sled made from an inverted frisbee with a short (4" to 6") 2x2" wood block attached in the center with wood screws.  Place the handle over the block, add a weight, such as a stone or heavy tool at the "trailing edge" of the frisbee to increase drag and keep the leading edge up and sliding over the grass.  Having the handle lie right on top of the under surface of the frisbee prevents it from tipping over.

Kim Mortimore 

[Mark Scarborough]

Heres a picture of Rudy's helper as per his description above
(hey rudy, mines cuter and she can sympathize with me when my plane goes smatter crash , much more voluptuous than yours, of course yours doesnt want you to help do dishes either so a trade off is all good)

[minnesotamodeler]

A little taller, and a yoke on top, and you got yerself a speed pylon!

[Leo Mehl]

The main thing about flying in Minnesota is that you could freeze to death there in the early spring and no one ould know.

[Rudy Taube]

Hi Mark,

Your a lucky guy. My wife does not help with my hobby, and I still have to help with the dishes! I must be doing something wrong    

Your right, my helper lacks curves. Maybe I should get a full size poster of Nicole Kidman and attach it to my devices leg?   

Thanks for putting the photo up.

Regards 

[minnesotamodeler]

The main thing about flying in Minnesota is that you could freeze to death there in the early spring and no one ould know.

Really depends on how you define "Spring"...ours is getting close now.  Didn't get below 40 last night!

[Bill Gruby]

Really depends on how you define "Spring"...ours is getting close now.  Didn't get below 40 last night!

Ray old buddy;

     I feel for ya, I only got about 15 hours of flying in so far this year, and thats in the last three weeks! 

  "Billy G"   

[Garf]

Really depends on how you define "Spring"...ours is getting close now.  Didn't get below 40 last night!

Move down to Florida. Winter is the flying season here.

[minnesotamodeler]

I've been out 4 times if you count the twice in my backyard...probably total of 5-6 hours. But our time is coming!

[Mike Spiess]

Florida in the summer don't you fly then? You wouldn't have to shrink your monocote it'll do it when you fly all by it's self


Actually it's been pretty nice here the last few days
PS I live in the same state as Ray. And mind

[Garf]

Mid summer in Miami:
95* in the shade
90+% humidity
Little to no wind
Thunderstorms come up with little warning giving you "static" shocks.

[minnesotamodeler]

Florida in the summer don't you fly then? You wouldn't have to shrink your monocote it'll do it when you fly all by it's self


Actually it's been pretty nice here the last few days
PS I live in the same state as Ray. And mind

I must be getting old and slow, took me awhile to figure that out.  State of mind, right...fun ain't it!

--Ray